Tag: routine

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer.

School just got back into session. The holidays are coming up. We are starting to get less hours of sunlight. Needless to say, it’s a busy time of year! I can’t stress enough how a well maintained organizational routine is key, especially this time of year. Here are three major components on how I stay organized throughout the year.

Google Calendar

My saving grace! I love planners and journals for the occasional desire to physically write things down. However, most of the time, I love using a digital planner. I love the ability to switch things around and mess up an entry without having to erase or cross something out. It keeps my whole thoughts together and gives me the ability to move things around. Love! I plug everything into my calendar from what blogs to write, pictures to take, and when to actually post my blogs. However, I use my calendar for much more than just blogging. I use it to keep track of personal appointments, bills, and even planning out larger projects. You can color code, assign times, set up alarms, and so much more. I’m so glad I switched over to Google Calendar! They even have an easy to use app so I can get notifications on my laptop and phone. I highly recommend!

Carefully Scheduled Timers

Having an iPhone spoils me. It’s as easy as, “Siri, set a timer for….” I like to set timers for reminders of when I need to start working on things; as well as, using the timers to tell me when I need to stop doing a task. It can be tedious at first but once you really start getting into this habit, it will really start to boost your productivity. It will start to show you how long tasks actually take and how quickly you can get them done! It’s a great self-accountability habit to get into. It’s important to work and get things done but it’s equally as important to rest. Having an alarm to tell you when to quit will help act as an outside voice to really tell your brain to stop.

Set Routines

I’m a creature of habit and a stickler for routines so you know I had to include this. I have certain things that I like to routinely do every day or every other day. Keeping to a schedule helps balance all the different events going on in my life. For those who are new, I have a full time job and also push to post four blogs a week. That’s a pretty full schedule and I like to make sure it all works into my routine! If you aren’t a routine person, using timers will actually help get you on a scheduled routine. Once your mind can settle on a routine throughout your day, you’ll rest a lot easier and be so much more productive.

Leave a comment below and tell me how you stay organized during these busy months. I’d love to hear!

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer.

I don’t know about you, but I have never been a morning person in my life. Mornings have always been the worst part of the day for me. However, I’ve learned to make these tips a routine staple and they’ve definitely made mornings a much more pleasant experience. I highly recommend incorporating some in your morning routine!

Make sure your alarm is out of arm’s reach

Start a morning tradition that gets you excited to wake up

Do all the tedious stuff the night before – outfit selection, packed lunch/snacks, pack your bag

Get a routine in place

Natural light always helps – open the blinds

This wraps up my week-long series for all you working girls out there. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I loved writing them. Leave me a comment below to let me know if you enjoyed this mini-series and if you’d be interested in seeing more in the future!

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer

February is coming to a close and I still can’t believe how fast 2017 has been going. With the short month, there has definitely been a lot crammed into such a short time period. I loved so many of the posts that went up this month so I wanted to be sure you didn’t miss out either! Be sure to check out my favorite four below and don’t miss out on the fun!

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer

Today I wanted to share my morning routine for all you working girls out there who know my struggle. The eternal conflict of getting in as much sleep as possible while also having enough time to make myself look presentable. It’s not glamorous by any means but that’s reality!

6:00 am – Alarm

The worst part of the day…

6:00 am to 7:00 am – YouTube Videos

I take a long time to wake up, longer than I’d like to admit. YouTube helps 🙂 It’s the part of my morning that I look forward to and what actually keeps my eyes open!

7:00 am – Morning Drink – hot water and lemon

I’ve been trying to incorporate a new habit in my morning routine. I juiced a quarter of a lemon and combine it with some hot water. The benefits of starting your morning with this drink are many, I’ll leave a link here explaining a few.

7:00 am to 7:20 am – Make-up & Hair

I’ve got this down to a science and can conquer my look in twenty minutes. I was the type of girl who definitely took an hour to get ready in high school. College taught me many things, including sleep is better than a long morning routine.

7:20 am to 7:25 am – Outfit

I normally plan out my outfits in my head the night before so I know exactly what to throw on in the morning. I prefer sleeping in more than trying on a million different outfits.

7:25 am to 7:30 am – Smoothie & Tea

My new ninja makes this process so easy! I’ll link a couple different smoothie recipes here that I like to bounce back and forth with. I always brew some of my green tea for a natural (much needed) caffeine boost.

7:30 am to 7:35 am – Lunch

Nothing extravagant, normally a wrap or a pita with plenty of fruits and veggies!

7:35 am – Out the Door

Buh-bye!

I hope you all enjoyed a little sneak peek into my weekday mornings. I’ll never be a morning person but I have gotten better over the years. You can now actually speak to me before 8 am without receiving a snarky comeback. (All progress is good progress!) Comment below and let me know what your favorite part of your morning routine is!

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer

Friday seemed like the perfect day to write this post so everyone can find at least an hour this weekend to pamper themselves. You don’t have to do ALL of these things, but I do recommend taking some time once a week and doing SOME of them. Getting a little ‘me’ time in will help melt away the stresses of everyday life. Keep reading to find out what I like to do every week to pamper myself a bit. Because YOU’RE WORTH IT 🙂

Remove Makeup and Get Into Comfy Clothes – Goes without saying that after I get home from a busy week at work I immediately shed my clothes at the door and swap them out for oversized comfy clothes.

Grab a Glass of Wine (or drink of your choice) – I prefer wine to help me relax but the decision is totally up to you!

Pluck Pesky Eyebrow Hairs – Once I’m comfy and have my wine I like to start getting down to business. Get rid of the annoying little brow hairs that may have popped up during the week always gives me a sense of satisfaction (anyone else?).

Apply Your Favorite Face Mask – After plucking and cleansing my face, I like to put a face mask on. Most of the time I’ll multi-mask. I have been trying out the Lush Mask of Magnaminty (stay tuned to hear my thoughts) so I’ll put that all over my face besides my nose. On my nose I’ll opt for a pore strip.

Apply Your Favorite Hair Mask – Multi-masking doesn’t just stop at the face! I’ll pop in a hair mask as well. (I actually do a hair mask before EVERY time I wash my hair, just to keep my hair from looking dull and dead.) Lush’s Retread hair mask/conditioner has been doing wonders for my hair. Honestly, I have had a couple people ask me what I’m doing differently with my hair.

Nice Hot Shower / Bath – Once I’ve left all my masks on for their allotted time (I normally go for about 30 minutes), I’ll jump in the shower. I’m not a bath girl, never have been and never will be. When I’m in the shower I’ll shave my legs, among doing all the other usual shower essentials. Trust me, you’ll want to shave too for the end results….

Moisturize – Such an important step that I NEVER forget. Especially after shaving my legs, I’ll make sure I use a basic lotion before I go in with my self-tanning lotion (to avoid irritation).

At Home Manicure – I like to keep up with my nails, even if I decide not to add a new coat of polish on that week. I like to go in and clean up my cuticles. For some reason, my cuticles get so dry and out of control if I don’t keep up on them. So I like to clean them up and then add a bit of coconut oil to them for moisture.

Vaseline to the Rescue – After my nails are dry, I like to apply a decent amount of Vaseline on my feet and slip on some comfy socks! My feet feel baby soft the next morning!

Freshen Up the Bed Sheets – Remember when I told you to shave your legs? Now you get it, don’t you? You’re welcome. 🙂

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer.

Makeup is fun and all, but no one can disagree with how amazing it feels to take it off at the end of the day! Over the years I’ve tried a lot of different products out on my skin to try and find the best combination for me; and, after 23 years, I think I’ve got it!

My Skin Type: I tend to be more normal but get oily in my t-zone areas. I’ve struggled with acne as much as the next person, not too bad but not crystal clear skin either. Most of my acne is hormonal but I’ll get the occasional pimple in areas I subconsciously touch throughout the day (Ex: chin and temples).

My Routine:

My nightly routine always starts with a makeup remover. The one I’ve been using for the past couple years is the Mario Badescu Cucumber Cleansing Lotion on a cotton pad. Despite what the name says, it is not lotion. It does a great job breaking down my makeup and leaving my skin feeling fresh. Using one pad for my face and a separate one for my eyes seem to work best for me and keeps junk from clogging my pores.

After I have removed my makeup sufficiently, I go in with my cleanser. Currently, I have been trying out the Clean and Clear Advantage Acne Control and am really enjoying it! It definitely isn’t as natural of a formula as my makeup remover but it doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin. I ALWAYS dry my face off with a fresh towel to prevent the buildup of bacteria and undoing all the cleansing I just did.

Aloe Vera is a secret of mine that really helps my sensitive skin. The aloe calms down any irritation and helps with reducing redness. Definitely a good idea to add to your regimen.

Next, I like to go in with my moisturizer. I make sure to apply a decent amount so my skin can continue soaking it in all night. Be sure to bring down the moisturizer onto your neck (it’s one of the first places to show your age!).

Eye cream has definitely helped out my bags and help me eliminate the need for color correcting during my makeup routine. I added this about a year ago to help prevent wrinkles and eye bags. So far, it has done a great job! (Looking for a great cruelty free eye cream to move onto after this one.)

I tend to sway more towards using Vaseline as my lip treatment at night. It definitely helps keep my lips moisturized enough to handle liquid lipsticks every day. Vaseline works much better than a simple chapstick does but it’s often too thick to wear during the day.

For pimple spot treatment, I always go back to my Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. I’ve used this product for years now and it does a wonderful job drying out my acne. Be sure to ONLY apply it directly to the pimple because it is very drying. I cannot say enough good things about this product!

It may seem a little excessive but I swear by each and every step. I’m the epitome of a lazy girl but I can’t find any corners to cut when it comes to my skincare routine. If I skip a step, I can tell the next morning. Good news is, after some time, it becomes habit and now I can get through all these steps in less than 5 minutes! Makeup is fun but products and trends come and go. Be good to your skin, you have it forever!

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer

This weekend, after a great recommendation, I stopped in at my local Lush store FOR THE FIRST TIME. I know, I know. What took me so long? I’m not sure either. I was probably worried that I would get addicted; and it’s safe to say, that I am now officially addicted! I’ve been needing a great cruelty free hair and face mask for a while now. Plus, the fact that they use 100% recycled product for their packaging really makes me happy. I can already tell this is a brand I’m totally on board with.

I’ve seen a lot of people rave about the Mask of Magnaminty and thought I would give it a try! It smells amazing to the point where I have to tell myself that I shouldn’t eat it haha. What drew me to this mask is the fact that it’s deep cleaning and exfoliating. I do have a Clarisonic but haven’t gotten around to ordering a new brush head for it; so, I was in need of a good exfoliating mask. I reach for my Glam Glow Powermud mask about once a week, if not more. However, it doesn’t exfoliate my skin as well as my Clarisonic and definitely doesn’t work as well as the Mask of Magnaminty. I tried the Mask of Magnaminty for the first time last night and fell in love! I’m going to keep using it for the next couple weeks and update you all on my thoughts!

My hair definitely could use a good trim as I haven’t been to the salon in a couple months; but, I wanted to get a good conditioning mask to give my hair a fighting chance before taking scissors to it! I opted towards something so conditioning that it is an actual conditioner, Lush’s Retread conditioner to be exact! What I like to do is wet the ends of my hair with lukewarm water to open up my hairs cuticles and make sure the mask is being used to its full potential. Then I’ll take a decent amount and apply it to my ends (never going past the middle of my hair). I like to leave the product in for about 15 minutes before washing it out in the shower. I tried this mask out for the first time last night as well and was EXTREMLY impressed! I didn’t have much hope for my dead ends but this really put life back into my hair in just one use. I will be continuing to try this out as well for the next couple of weeks and let you know my thoughts!